Town hall anger rages on
Josh Kraushaar, Lisa Lerer Josh Kraushaar, Lisa Lerer – 2 hrs 48 mins ago
Out on the health-care firing line, senators and members of Congress continued to get battered by constituents angry over President Barack Obama’s reform plan Wednesday — with voters raising questions about everything from assisted suicide to coverage for illegal immigrants.
Lawmakers insisted over and over that the bills in Congress would cover neither — but their answers did nothing to tamp down the anger from Afton, Iowa, to Hagerstown, Md., to Rocky Mount, N.C.
In Iowa, a self-described “dumb southern Iowa redneck” told Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, “I see nowhere in the Constitution where health care is a right. ... I want to hear it from Obama, I want to hear it from Pelosi, about how this is about ‘We the people.’“
In Maryland, a town hall by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin quickly devolved into shouting after one questioner ordered Cardin to “cease and desist” from considering health care legislation. Cardin’s insistence that he was being fiscally responsible — “I’m not going to vote for any bill that adds to the national debt,” Cardin said — did nothing to quiet the crowd.
“That’s your answer?” one man shouted.
“You already did!” said another.
On the outside, opponents of the legislation outnumbered supporters by about a 10-1 ratio. “Obama energized the youth just like Hitler did,” said Barbara Kelly, a substance abuse counselor from Hagerstown. “He’s given the country away to the elitist Obama supporters. They don’t have to answer to anyone!”
In North Carolina, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) seemed to get a little tired of the frequent interruptions and shouting during a two-hour town hall Wednesday, snapping back at some in the crowd.
"Read it!" one protester shouted. "How do you know I haven't read it?" the North Carolina Democrat fired back, according to the News & Observer.
Butterfield also tried to correct numerous attendees who insisted that illegal immigrants would be covered under the Democratic plan. "They are not counted in this bill," Butterfield said. "I am telling you they are not in the bill."
The events Wednesday seemed to continue what was seen in televised glimpses of town halls Tuesday — constituents screaming at Specter, a fight breaking out at an event by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) — that have left the impression of a popular uprising against the plan. The outbursts have clearly rattled the White House into taking a much sharper tack in Obama’s own pitch for the idea.
But advocates on both sides of the issues are trying to assess just how deep the anger truly runs — whether 24-hour cable cameras are capturing a small but extremely vocal minority or something much bigger.
And perhaps most important, all sides are trying to figure out whether Democrats — even the ones who didn’t get screamed at during their town halls, many of which were peaceable — will have the political will to vote yes on bills in the House and Senate come fall.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter heard boos for a second day after a raucous session where he was jeered for more than an hour on Tuesday — and told reporters he thinks the protesters are “not representative of the American people.”
Specter blamed the anger he has seen on "the economy, the facts that millions of people have lost their jobs and millions of others are afraid of losing theirs." But he said the protesters' views are "significant, and their views need to be taken into account.”
The fury of the crowd Wednesday did not match that demonstrated the day before when a man was removed after standing up and walking into the aisle to shout at Specter.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Wednesday defended the value of the town halls, saying Obama believes they contributed to the debate by allowing people to get the facts.
“If people believe for some reason that this plan is government controlled health care — which it’s not — if the president can address that each time he goes out there, and more and more people can believe the truth, that that helps the prospect of health reform,” Gibbs said.
Obama himself was one of the lucky ones whose town hall event in Portsmouth, N.H., on Tuesday was downright placid — so much so that he had to solicit questions from opponents by the end. But outside the hall, protesters on both sides of the issue wielded signs and traded insults, an indication that passions are running high.
Even though he didn’t get much in the way of tough questions, Obama strode the stage like a man spoiling for a fight — with answers at the ready to one of the most virulent rumors, that the bills include so-called “death panels” that would decide how much care every American could receive.
Obama tried to mock the notion as a plan “to pull the plug on Grandma” — but the fact the president had to address it head on in such a high-profile forum shows how much the White House is worried that the most damaging rumors could take hold in the public psyche.
Now the question is whether Democrats looking for cover on the issue can find some from the most popular politician in America — Obama — or whether the opponents and fence-sitters are even beyond the reach of Obama’s arguments.
He certainly tried to deliver them some talking points, including this made-for-the-nightly-news line: “For all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary — what is truly risky — is if we do nothing.”
Obama also focused his attention on people who already have health care, saying people would no longer be able to be bounced from insurance for pre-existing conditions or for getting sick.
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SOURCE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090812/pl_politico/26049
WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE KIDDING; THE U.S. NO LONGER OWNS SOCIAL SECURITY!
Do you think maybe the People discovered they actually do have a "Constitution".. and not just A GOD DAMNED PIECE OF PAPER!? AND;
CONSTITUTIONAL U.S.A. SLOWLY BEING DISMANTLED RE: TOWN HALL MEETINGS, EXCESSIVE MISCONSTRUCTION AND ABUSE OF FEDERAL POWER
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=153086
PLUS: SOCIAL SECURITY WAS SOLD OFF TO THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND
Statutory Instrument 1997 No. 1778
The Social Security (United States of America) Order 1997
© Crown Copyright 1997
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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
1997 No. 1778
SOCIAL SECURITY
The Social Security (United States of America) Order 1997
Made 22nd July 1997
Coming into force 1st September 1997
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 22nd day of July 1997
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas at London on the 13th February 1984 an Agreement on social security between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America (hereinafter referred to as "the Agreement") and an Administrative Agreement for the implementation of the Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "the Administrative Agreement")[1] were signed on behalf of those Governments and effect was given to the Agreement by the Social Security (United States of America) Order 1984 (hereinafter referred to as "the Principal Order")[2]:
And Whereas at London on 6th June 1996 a Supplementary Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America (which Supplementary Agreement is set out in Schedule 1 to this Order and is hereinafter referred to as "the Supplementary Agreement") amending the Agreement and a Supplementary Administrative Agreement amending the Administrative Agreement (which Supplementary Administrative Agreement is set out in Schedule 2 to this Order and is hereinafter referred to as "the Supplementary Administrative Agreement")[3] were signed on behalf of those Governments:
And Whereas by Article 3 of the Supplementary Agreement it is provided that the Supplementary Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the month in which each Government has received from the other Government written notification that all statutory and constitutional requirements have been complied with for entry into force of the Supplementary Agreement:
And Whereas by Article 2 of the Supplementary Administrative Agreement it is provided that the Supplementary Administrative Agreement shall enter into force on the date of entry into force of the Supplementary Agreement:
And Whereas written notification in accordance with Article 3 of the Supplementary Agreement was received by each Government on 20th June 1997 and accordingly the Supplementary Agreement and the Supplementary Administrative Agreement enter into force on the 1st September 1997:
And Whereas by section 179(1)(a) and (2) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992[4] it is provided that Her Majesty may by Order in Council make provision for modifying or adapting that Act and the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992[5] in their application to cases affected by agreements with other Governments providing for reciprocity in matters specified in the said section:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in pursuance of section 179(1)(a) and (2) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and of all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows: -
Citation and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Social Security (United States of America) Order 1997 and shall come into force on 1st September 1997.
Modification of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and amendment of the Principal Order
2. The Social Security Administration Act 1992 and the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 shall be modified and the Principal Order shall be amended so as to give effect to the Agreement as modified by the Supplementary Agreement set out in Schedule 1 to this Order and to the Administrative Agreement as modified by the Supplementary Administrative Agreement set out in Schedule 2 to this Order, so far as the same relate to England, Wales and Scotland.
Amendment of Order
3. The reference to the Social Security (United States of America) Order 1984 shall be omitted in the Schedule to the Social Security (Reciprocal Agreements) Order 1988[6] and in Schedules 2 and 3 to the Social Security (Reciprocal Agreements) Order 1995[7].
N.H. Nicholls
Clerk of the Privy Council
SCHEDULE 1
Article 2
SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENT AMENDING THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America;
Having considered the Agreement on Social Security which was signed on their behalf at London on 13th February 1984 (hereinafter referred to as "the Agreement");
Having recognised the need to revise certain provisions of the Agreement;
Have agreed as follows: Continued at: http://www.theantechamber.net/Mirror/StatutoryInstrument1997.html
Serving Freedom
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